treytreyjazz's Mock Draft

Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Roy Hibbert. I originally did have Caldwell-Pope here but I think Len is slipping too far. The Wolves could lose Pekovic to free agency. Len would be a great replacement and they wouldn't lose any momentum. They do need a 2 guard but they can always go that direction with their 26h pick, where their will be a whole bunch more available.

Lamar Odom/Charles Barkley The obvious choice is Otto Porter, but recent rumors say that both Wall and Beal want a pick and pop player. I've heard that the Wizards want to trade this pick to the Bucks for Illyasova, but that trade sounds very similar to what they did in 2009 with the 5th pick (who turned out to be Ricky Rubio). Look where that got them. Hopefully the won't make the same mistake again, and instead select a pick and pop guy in the draft. Bennett would be great for that, may be a bit of a tweener, but if you are looking for a pick and pop guy, Bennett, Zeller, and Olynyk are your best choices. Bennett is the best by far, and with the 3rd pick, you definitely have to go for the best.

Alonzo Mourning/Tyson Chandler. The way I see it there are 3 choices the Cavs have with the #1 pick. #1 Trade down, to try and pick Porter, #2 Reach for Porter anyway, #3 Pick Nerlens Noel and live with the criticism they will undoubtedly receive for selecting an extremely underweight center knowing in the end that Noel has determination required to gain weight and more importantly, strength. I believe the Cavs will surprise us and pick Noel because they are determined to improve their defense and know that Noel gives them the best option to do that. Also they can handle not playing Noel for a few months while he continues to recover from ACL surgery because they have Zeller and Thompson that can start in his place.

Kyle Lowry. The Kings are a team full of misfits that are looking to start fresh and new. They almost moved to Seattle, which shows how dysfunctional this franchise really is. They could use a leader, and an upgrade at PG. Right now, Isaiah Thomas is playing the point, but he's a little small, and I think he'd be better served as a 6th man who could bring some energy off the bench. Burke would be a great pick for them. Then they could decide what to do about Evans and Cousins.

Monte Ellis. The Mavs have been rumored to shopping this pick, so you have to go for the player with the most talent. That would McCollum easily. I could see a lot of teams coveting him. (Blazers, Wolves, Jazz, Bucks, Celtics, Bulls, Hawks, Suns...)

Rudy Gay/Tayshaun Prince. I really didn't expect Porter to drop this far, but after the Wizards wanting to go for a pick and pop guy like Bennet, and Charlotte having no use for him because of MKG, and Pheonix being really impressed by Zeller, 6 to the Pelicans is as low as he will go. The Pelicans aren't really getting much from Aminu, so Porter would be a great starter over him.

Michael Redd. Evan Turner needs a change of scenery. The writing is on the wall, he will soon be wearing a different uniform. Where he goes, I don't know. I've heard reports of him going to Minny or Detroit but nothing has gotten that far. All I know is that Turner will not be with the Sixers come next season. This means the Sixers need a new 2 guard. Caldwell-Pope is a much better shooter than Turner, but just as big. He would provide a nice shooting presence for Holiday. CJ McCollum is another consideration but I don't think the Sixers want two guards in the backcourt that are 6'3.

Louis Scola/Brooke Lopez. I heard that Pheonix really likes Zeller, and want to use him to preplace Scola and/or Gortat. I also heard they areinterested in trading Gortat to the Blazers if Zeller is still on the board at 10. Why don't they just draft Zeller and get him for sure? You don't know if he'll be available at 10. And he could very wwell go to the Pelicans or the Kings if not drafted at 5 by the Suns. So my advice, if the Suns really want Zeller that badly pick him at 5.

Vince Carter. Portland trades this pick to the Suns for Marcin Gortat. They want an experienced player who can start and play defense as well as grab rebounds to play Center. They need a Center right now, not in 2 or 3 years when Leonard or Adams or Len will be ready.

Chris Kaman. Adams would be a nice defensive center for the Thunder. Perkins isn't looking too good, and the Thunder need a nice defensive presence to pair with Ibaka. Adams is bigger, younger and has gobs more talent than Perkins. Another Center project, lets just hope this one isn't as disastrous as Saer Sene, Robert Swift, Cole Aldrich, BJ Mullens... Something tells me that Adams will actually work out.

Samuel Dalembert/Anderson Varejao. Word is Nogueira has matured, which means that he should be long gone before the late first round like we used to project him. Sanders is more of a PF, and I'm sure the Bucks would like to have a better option at Center than Sanders. Nogueira is compared to Dalembert, but I think he will end up being a poor man's version of Joakim Noah with a lot of dedication.

Shaun Livingston (pre-injury)/Greivis Vasquez.I know this looks like a messed up pick but hear me out. This is the worst possible scenario for the Pistons. All their desired picks are gone (Oladipo, Burke, Bennett, Porter, and Shabazz). So now what do they do? Well, they look at their current starters and see which position they need to upgrade. To me that would be SF. Unfortunately, the best SF’s available are Saric, and Adetokunbo. Both of them are considered a reach and very risky picks. The Pistons to me are not the team that would be risky and reach for either one of them. (The last couple of years they have lucked out and selected Monroe, Knight, and Drummond, I don’t think they will luck out again) Saric, would not be considered that much of a reach but, like I have said before next year’s class is likely to be filled with star players. The Pistons are likely to be in the lottery again next year and can therefore wait for that star player and possibly luck out yet again. I think the Pistons will go with the safe pick in the hopes that this will turn out in their favor next year. Knight is right now playing the point but he is more a combo guard who is better suited to play off the ball. Carter-Williams is a big point guard. With MCW the Pistons don’t have to go small. They can have MCW bring the ball up the court on offense and on defense have MCW guard the opposing teams SG while Knight can guard the opposing teams PG. It’s a win-win situation.

Darren Collison (with the attitude of Rajon Rondo) Rumor is Celtics have promised Schroeder. Celtics could use a young PG as Rondo could leave soon, and Celtics could break it up and start over from fresh. Bradley is a more of a 2 guard, possibly sixth man, so Shroeder could learn well from his idol, Rondo, and eventually start alongside Courtney Lee and Jeff Green.

Ty Lawson/Jordan Farmar: The Jazz need a PG and I hear that Larkin is the one they want. He's worked out for the Bucks and Celtics, and both teams really liked him too. So if the Jazz are smart, and if they want Larkin that badly then they need to reach for him with their first of 2 first round picks. Larkin would be a great PG for the Jazz, as he would provide, leadership, passing, great shooting, and not horrible defense for a 5'11 guard.